Beginnings and Debut

At the age of 16, Khan made his debut in cricket in Lahore. He was playing for his hometown Lahore A (1969–70), Lahore B (1969–70), and Lahore Greens (1970–71). He played cricket for the University of Oxford's Blues team from 1973 to 1975.

He returned to the Pakistan team in 1976 after receiving his degree from Oxford and managed to secure a berth for himself. At the height of his powers at age 30, he racked up a mind-blowing 62 wickets in 9 Test matches at an average of 13.29, the lowest ever in a calendar year for over 50 wickets. He did this by swinging quickly and against the seam.

Ascend to Glory

At the peak of his career, in 1982, he succeeded Javed Miandad as captain of the Pakistan cricket team. Imran was a charismatic leader who combined his intelligence and strength with a classy and refined demeanor to motivate his team to achieve the seemingly impossible. As captain, Khan participated in 48 Test matches, of which Pakistan won 14, lost 8, and drew 26. Additionally, he participated in 139 ODIs, winning 77, losing 57, and finishing one tie.

The crouching tigers of Pakistan appeared to be headed for victory following a dismal start to the tournament and a few unlucky rain-marred games. Imran Khan grabbed the last wicket on the day of the World Cup final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and he later emerged as the symbol of the victory by speaking up on the podium and giving a stirring speech as World Champions Pakistan basked in the glory of their fairy tale ending.

Statistics and Records

In 75 Tests, Khan secured 3000 runs and 300 wickets, the second-fastest record behind Ian Botham's 72, to complete the all-rounder’s triples.

Additionally, with a batting average of 61.86, he ranks second all-time among Test batsmen who bat at position 6 in the batting order. He played for Pakistan against Sri Lanka in the nation's final Test at Faisalabad in January 1992.

Khan was a pioneer of the reverse swing bowling style. The bowling team of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, who eventually mastered and made use of this technique, received instruction from him on how to do so.

He was the fourth bowler in the world and the first Pakistani to take 362 wickets in Test cricket. His best performance was a 102 not out. His best bowling performance in an ODI inning in a losing cause was 6 wickets for 14 runs, which set a record for the best bowling stats by any bowler.

Career Journey

In June 1971 in Edgbaston, Khan played his first Test cricket against England. After 3 years he made his ODI debut, in August 1974, against England at Trent Bridge for the Prudential Trophy.

He represented Worcestershire in English county cricket from 1971 to 1976. Khan also represented Dawood Industries (1975–1976) and Pakistan International Airlines during this ten-year period (1975–1976 to 1980–1981). He played for Sussex from 1983 until 1988.

He visited the West Indies after the Australian series and met Tony Greig there, who recruited him for Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket. He finished third at 139.7 km/h in a fast bowling competition in Perth in 1978, solidifying his reputation as one of the quickest bowlers in the world.

Six months after playing his final one-day international against England in Melbourne, Australia's 1992 World Cup final, Khan announced his definitive retirement from cricket. With 88 Test matches, 126 innings, and 3807 runs at an average of 37.69, including six centuries and 18 fifties, he finished his career.